Tacit Tensions and Anticipated Times

There seems to be a growing, implicit sense of urgency as I approach the end of my second of three quarters. Two weeks from now, my classes will be completed for the quarter--3 papers and a final exam yet to complete. I am also officially in critical, thesis crunch time. I have a month and half to write the sucker and my thesis adviser will return to Israel in two weeks leaving me extremely limited face-to-face time. It is good that I will have nearly two weeks off between this and the next quarter to devote my energies to serious writing--though my time will not be wholly spent on studies.

In the midst of it all, the need to consider the future is also feeling pressing. It turns out I have missed my best opportunity to pursue the State Department next year, the Presidential Management Fellowship, though it is not out of the question for the following year (hopefully). I do expect to hear of the Critical Language Scholarship opportunity in Cairo in the next 3 weeks or so, which could help begin to clarify things. As I consider post-Chicago options and interests, whether jobs or further schooling, it seems like things are beginning to point in the direction of D.C.--a place I don't think even seriously crossed my mind a year ago. We will have to see.

But, despite these tensions and expectations, it is an exciting time of life. Yesterday I talked with a Civil Service Agent with the State Department in the Nuclear Proliferation and WMD program, a CIR alum (my program) from 2003. Hearing her talk about her job was exciting to think about in terms of my own future. A part of me perhaps never thought about venturing terribly far from home (NE) for very long outside of academics, and I feel my ability to allow myself to think bigger has been recently growing. We will see what God has in store. Isn't it an interesting journey?